Cynergy Search Tidbits Related to Sponsored Activity
Sponsored Financial Services has been utilizing the Organization Document Number (Org Doc #) on KFS e-docs to indicate the OSP Project Number (OSP #) related to the transaction/e-doc. This could be a Contract Control Account set-up (e-doc type = ACCT), a Budget transaction (e-doc type = BA), or any other account or financial e-doc.
If you are searching for the status of the Contract Control Account, go first to the Cynergy site and click Search on the toolbar. Enter Type: ACCT (Account) and hit tab. Once you hit tab, more specific attributes related to an Account e-doc will appear. Enter the OSP # in the Org Doc # field and click search. [You can toggle between Search Result Types: Document Specific Data or Workflow Data]. Once the search results are returned, you can click on the Route Log to check the status or open the e-doc. For newer projects, if you have no search results using the Org Doc #, the Account e-doc has yet to be created.
Cynergy Search is available for other e-docs, as well. While our office will be using the Org Doc # to indicate the OSP #, your best results will come from a search by the Account Number. The Org Doc # is not a required field, nor is it validated.
Other Common Searches
Search Account e-docs by Account # to find changes that have been made to an account. Account e-docs include the Account (ACCT), Sub-Account (SACC) and the Account Global e-doc (GACC). You can search Budget Adjustments (Type = BA) by Account Number to find budget transactions that have occurred. After you indicate the Type, tab through and the attributes for that specific e-doc type will appear. You can also do Detailed Searches (top right – next to your login) to search on initiators, creation dates, approved dates, and other attributes. So many possibilities…
Cynergy Search has proven to be a great tool for viewing KFS e-docs, and certainly is not limited to contract and grant activity. There are plenty of e-doc Types to choose from. We just wanted to share with you how we have determined a use for the Org Doc # and the search tool to obtain information.
New Interdepartmental Lab Supplies Object Code
In response to campus requests, we have created object code 6545, Interdept – Lab Supply & Material. Please consider using this code when acquiring lab supplies from stockrooms, Cornell Store, and other campus purveyors.
Background:
KFS only allows certain object codes to be used for internal billing transactions. These codes are identifiable by the Object Sub-Type Code of “ID.” This is to improve the accuracy of the university’s financial statements by clearly identifying and properly treating interdepartmental activity. Research units recently raised the concern that there was only a single object code for interdepartmental supplies, and that use of such a code might require burdensome review to determine whether the supplies were for laboratory use (normally direct) or office use (normally indirect).
We do not recommend taking the time to correct transactions charged to object code 6505, Interdept Supplies & Materials in the first four months of the 2012 fiscal year. When we review account transactions, we will take the combined use of the object code 6505 into account.
If you have any questions please contact a Sponsored Financial Services accountant.
Making Purchases on Expired Accounts
There is a business rule in KFS that prohibits users from creating Requisitions (REQ) on expired accounts. While this may present an administrative inconvenience it does provide a mechanism to ensure that project spending, particularly purchasing of supplies, occurs within the period of performance.
As a project nears the end of its performance period, it is important to determine if all activity is complete or if an extension is warranted. If an extension is required, the unit must work with the Grants and Contracts Officer (GCO) in the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) to determine if the option to extend is available based on the terms and conditions of the agreement. If so, OSP will work with the Sponsor and the project status in the Sponsored Projects Portal will be updated to reflect the request.
If an extension has been requested through the Office of Sponsored Programs or a continuation amendment is expected to be automatically issued by the sponsor, and the unit needs to process a KFS Requisition (i.e. order supplies via a purchase order), the account may be edited by the unit to remove the expiration date. The Account e-doc will route for approval and Sponsored Financial Services will verify that a subsequent amendment has been requested. Once the Account edit e-doc is in “Final” status, the REQ may be processed.
All other financial e-docs, including invoices for Purchase Orders finalized prior to the account expiration date, may be processed to an expired account in order to close out financial activity.
It is important to recognize that while an extension is being considered; post-“expiration” activity poses a financial risk to the unit. Once a determination is provided by the Sponsor, and a new period of performance is noted, financial activity will be reviewed to ensure compliance with the revised period of performance.
The Next ID&R Update: October 25, 2011
Please join us Tuesday, October 25, from 9:30 – 11:00 a.m. in G10 BioTech for the KFS Information Delivery & Reporting Update.
You’ll hear the status of the KFS ID&R team’s efforts, get the latest reporting news, and have a chance to ask questions.
AGENDA
- KFS dashboards progress and availability update
- A demonstration of the new Reference Dashboard
- A discussion of KFS asset, liability and fund balances
- A look at new content development
- Q&A
ID&R Update meetings will be held monthly through December. Please visit the Events page for dates, times, and locations.
The Next ID&R Update: September 13, 2011
Please join us Tuesday, September 13, from 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. in G10 BioTech for the KFS Information Delivery & Reporting Update.
You’ll hear the status of the KFS ID&R team’s efforts, get the latest reporting news, and have a chance to ask questions.
AGENDA
- KFS dashboards progress and availability update
- Roles and dashboard access update
- Upcoming deliverables
- How the dashboards tie to the KFS application
- Q&A
ID&R Update meetings will be held monthly through December. Please visit the Events page for dates, times, and locations.
The Next ID&R Update: August 16, 2011
Please join us Tuesday, August 16, from 9:30 – 11:00 a.m. in G10 BioTech for the KFS Information Delivery & Reporting Update.
You’ll hear the status of the KFS ID&R team’s efforts, get the latest reporting news, and have a chance to ask questions.
AGENDA
- KFS dashboards progress and availability update
- Upcoming deliverables, including a demonstration of the Sponsored-Organization dashboard
- Dashboard training
- Q&A
ID&R Update meetings will be held monthly through December. Please visit the Events page for dates, times, and locations.
Tips for Month End
As we’ve discussed here before, in KFS, month end is month end, even if it occurs on a Saturday or Sunday!
When a month ends on a weekend, we will make every effort to keep the system available. Please note, however, that the KFS Help Desk operates from 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM, Monday – Friday, and will NOT be available for calls or e-mail requests on the weekend.
The following are some things you can do to prepare in advance for a smooth month end:
Everyone, be sure to allow adequate time for your e-docs to route to everyone for approval prior to month end, as a single missing approval will keep a doc from going to final status and posting. Note: If your document routes to Central Staff for approval, allow adequate time for them to approve the document prior to month end. If month end occurs on a weekend, please allow adequate time for them to approve on the preceding Friday. (You can determine future routing by opening the e-doc route log and looking at future action requests.)
Approvers, DON’T disapprove a doc with multiple approvers if you can at all avoid it (or even docs requiring just your approval if your initiator can’t resubmit in time for you to re-approve by month end).
- If you have the ability to correct your accounting lines, do so in the doc. Don’t disapprove the doc as a “training opportunity.” This tip should be standard practice, not just at month end.
Everyone, check the status of your docs.
- Do a search on all unapproved e-docs initiated by you. From doc search, select detailed search and enter your netID as Initiator, select “Pending Statuses” from Route Status, and select the date of your earliest known unapproved e-doc in the Date Created From field (be sure you enter this). This will tell you which e-docs you have initiated that are not yet fully approved.
- View each route log for pending actions so you can follow up with approvers, if necessary.
- Look at future actions to see where else the e-doc needs to go.
Everyone, review and/or try out the e-docs you need to use for month end now. Note: This includes becoming familiar with the import templates, knowing what object codes are allowed on certain docs, etc. In other words, please plan ahead for your work.
Everyone, an auxiliary voucher is appropriate for enterprise and enterprise-like units to process accruals.
Everyone, if you run into a problem with a doc that must be posted but you can’t find an object code or other data to complete the doc, use the object code that comes the closest to your purpose and process a General Error Correction Document to fix the doc in the next month.
Posting to a continuation account
A financial e-doc can use an expired account. The activity may post automatically to the continuation account during the nightly batch process according to the following rules:
- For General Funds: If the activity is beyond the expiration date, it will post to the continuation account.
- For Sponsored Funds: If the activity is beyond 90 days from the expiration, it will post to the continuation account.
There are specific e-docs that are exceptions and will post to an expired account. At this time, this includes Payment Requests (KFS invoices for Purchase Orders) and Deposits for Outstanding Revenue/Receivable balances. These exceptions are system driven as well.
Enterprise feeds (Bursar, Payroll, etc.) should not post to an expired account and, during the nightly batch process, will post automatically to the continuation account based on the criteria noted above.
Janet Strait
KFS Contracts and Grants Module Lead
The Next ID&R Update: July 21, 2011
Please join us Thursday, July 21, from 9:30 – 11:00 a.m. in G10 BioTech for the KFS Information Delivery & Reporting Update.
You’ll hear the status of the KFS ID&R team’s efforts, get the latest reporting news, and have a chance to ask questions.
AGENDA
- KFS dashboards progress and availability update
- Planned dashboard release change cycle
- Data availability update
- Dashboard roles and access to KFS dashboards
- Dashboard training
- Q&A
ID&R Update meetings will be held monthly through December. Please visit the Events page for dates, times, and locations.
Financial processing using expired accounts
Accounting lines that are created using an expired account will prompt a “warning” to the user. The warning should also serve as a reminder to confirm the activity is within the performance period of the agreement.
While closed accounts cannot be used in an accounting document, an account that has passed its expiration date but which is not closed can be used. If a user wishes to continue processing the e-doc with an expired account, they will be required to override the account.
Contract and Grant accounts have 90 days from the expiration date to close out activity. (This is a system generated parameter.) Keep in mind though that there may be terms and conditions within the agreement requiring activity to be finalized sooner than 90 days and, furthermore, university policy requires financial activity to be completed within 30 days prior to the final financial report due date. All of these, together, will ensure that we are timely in meeting financial contractual obligations.
Janet Strait
KFS Contracts and Grants Module Lead
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